Overdue Child Support Payments | Getting Behind in Texas
Texas collects more child support than any other state, but when it comes to collecting overdue payments, Texas is behind. This causes many problems for parents who are struggling to make ends meet and pay for their children’s educational expenses and even keep their children fed. The state has a responsibility to these children and must make sure that they are doing everything in their power to collect their past due child support.
Highlights of the National Survey
According to a national survey, child support payments come in at an average of $430 per month or about $5,150 per year to children under the age of 21. Other interesting data from the survey showed that only 15 percent of child support payers are women and 85 percent of them are men. The majority of child support providers are providing for one child and about three in ten are providing for two children while the rest are providing for three or more children.
Past Due Payments in Texas
Currently, there is about $13.3 billion owed in overdue child support in Texas. When a parent that is supposed to be paying child support does not pay it, there are options. One option that custodial parents have in making sure that child support payments are paid is to file a lawsuit and request that the child support agreement with the noncustodial parent is enforced by the court.
The state also has options on what it can do to help custodial parents get the child support that is owed for the care of their children. For example, the state can require employers to deduct what is owed from the employee’s paycheck and withhold wages until the child support is paid.
Licenses may also be suspended including professional licenses, driver’s licenses and hunting licenses. Liens may be filed against the noncustodial parent’s property and assets.
Other monies going to the noncustodial parent can also be intercepted. Tax refund checks and lottery winnings can be withheld and paid over for child support. This is true for other monies that the noncustodial parent receives from the state or federal government. This is true for parents living in Texas and parents that live in two different states.
Parents who are owed child support must have protection. An experienced family law attorney is a great resource for struggling parents. As listed above, there are many ways to get the payments from the owing parent, but an attorney can help people navigate through the often confusing system and make sure that their children are getting the things that they need.